


Never Be Afraid of Heights

by CaptainAngsty



Category: Persona 3
Genre: Everyone Is Alive, Everyone Needs A Hug, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, vague references though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:01:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27273859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainAngsty/pseuds/CaptainAngsty
Summary: 'If we fall, we fall together.'Shinjiro is stuck in a loop he believes is the afterlife.Time to wake up.
Relationships: Aragaki Shinjiro/Sanada Akihiko
Comments: 3
Kudos: 17





	Never Be Afraid of Heights

**Author's Note:**

> This came to me when I was listening to Afraid of Heights by Billy Talent and I wrote it in one sitting after too much coffee, expect mistakes and incoherency.

If we fall, we fall together.  
Shinjiro couldn't keep track of how many times he's heard that. Or how many times he's found himself up on this mimicry of the dorm roof. He never expected afterlife to be like this, never expected it to be anything, one moment the burning pain in his chest was fading and the next his eyes opened to a too bright skyline and a lone figure peacefully looking out before him.  
  
He hadn't needed more than a instant to know who it was. Akihiko not turning to acknowledge him until he'd stepped closer, his hand firmly placed on his friend's shoulder, instincts telling him to pull the man away from the edge of what he had finally realized was the old dorm roof.   
  
'If we fall, we fall together.'  
  
He hadn't even had the time to process what Akihiko had said before he himself was pulled to join him on that edge, hands clasped in union. Shinjiro had kept his eyes locked on Akihiko's profile, those bright eyes looking on in determination, a steadying breath escaping his lips and a second later he was gone. His body tipping over to drop. Shinjiro's heart had seized locking his body rigid, he could do nothing but watch him fall into the misty depths below. Before he could even scream he had clenched his eyes shut, ears ringing with radio static.  
  
Shinjiro wasn't sure how long it was that first time, for all he knew he stood there for days refusing to look but when he finally opened his eyes he was steps back and Akihiko was on the ledge again.  
  
He was fairly certain this was his hell.  
  
Countless times he had to relive it, no two exactly the same, he had tried everything to pull Aki away, dragging him bodily and pinning him to the door until he couldn't hold himself up anymore, tackling him to the floor, even knocking him out hadn't worked they always ended up on the edge hand in hand. He had tried his hardest to hold on more than once, his shoulder screaming in its socket leaving him to close his eyes and hope when he opened them he'd get another chance.  
  
When it clicked that physical wouldn't work he'd tried talking to prolong it. No matter how many hours he filled with words the hazy light around them never faded, day couldn't seem to fall to night in this world and he never had enough words to stop Akihiro taking his hand and guiding him back to that damn ledge. The shock left long ago but the pain only grew with each failure, the inevitability shoving another knife in. 

Lately he’s resorted to anger, screaming words and insults anything to try and change course, certain things he would have never dared to say for fear of those broken eyes meeting his and shattering his heart but all he ever found was patience. It was unnerving at first, his Aki would fight, bite back and not back down round after round, this one just waited until Shinjiro’s fight deflated and as always brought him to the drop.  
The most recent, he’d begged. Fallen to his knees, pressed his cheek into familiar soft red fabric, held onto his waist for dear life and begged him to just stay, to plant his feet on the roof and not leave him again. The response had come in the form of a warm hand carding through the hair that peaked from below his beanie and a single sentence.

  
‘You told me that you’d never be afraid of heights.’

  
_‘Shinji please get away from there you’ll fall.’_

  
_The warm spring breeze felt too good to leave after spending so much time in the stifling new dorm he wanted to enjoy it a little longer._

_‘Doesn’t it scare you?’_

  
_He almost laughed, a whole new world had just been opened to them, he was scared shitless. The Dark Hour was so unknown to them, the powers that came with it, the responsibility, the horrible list of what ifs, the terrifying thought of something happening to Aki. Their personas only confirmed his importance, two halves. He turned to the innocent boy, refusing to admit how his heart skipped at the sight. Even slightly annoyed he was beautiful no wonder those girls kept following him all around school._

  
_Taking in a lungful as another breeze washed by he finally answered, head tipped high up._

  
_‘I’ll never be afraid of heights.’_

  
By the time he’d come back to himself the fingers had stopped, waiting. An unknown resolve had settled into Shinjiro’s chest as he stood taking the gloved hands into his own and walking them over, his heart raced as they’d looked over but at the last moment his body refused. He was a coward.  
So here he stands, a door to his back and his other half with his to nothing but air and arms open. Time to let it all go. He takes off running, gaze locked and not breaking until their bodies collide, the momentum giving them no choice but to fall together.  
-  
He can only let out a weak sigh as his eyes open to the familiar hazy sunlight. Time to accept eternity.

  
’Shinji?!’

  
The shock forces him to focus, first a modestly tiled ceiling, a rhythmic beeping, an unusually bare hand clutching his own. This is new. Looking to his right brings a fault to the beep, Akihito is there, no longer in his school uniform just a casual set staring at him with wide eyes, tears free to stream down flushed cheeks, still damn beautiful. It takes three attempts to swallow so he can croak out anything, he has to make sure this is real but all that comes is a quiet greeting.

  
The relief on Akihiko’s face is instant, more tears flow as they slide down into an open smile a chuckle tumbles out.

  
‘Hey. You’re a god damn idiot you know that?’


End file.
